Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport in China

The new terminal, a creation of Italian husband-and-wife architects Massimiliano and Doriana Fuksas, covers 450,000 square metres, and is about triple the size of the existing terminals. It has 200 check-in counters, 200 shops and 62 boarding gates, and can accommodate the largest passenger planes in operation. It is designed to handle 45 million passengers a year by 2020,

Studio Fuksas looked at the shapes of various living creatures when planning the layout of the complex. "The concept of the plan for Terminal 3 of Shenzen Bao'an international airport evokes the image of a manta ray, a fish that breathes and changes its own shape, undergoes variations, [and] turns into a bird to celebrate the emotion and fantasy of a flight," said the architects.

Thousands of hexagonal skylights bring natural light into this new terminal